Archive for May, 2015

It was a powerful and inspirational evening in Erie last week as local breast cancer survivors shared their stories of hope and courage. The PA Breast Cancer Coalition was honored to showcase its photo exhibit, 67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania at the beautiful Ramond M. Blasco, M.D. Memorial Library. More than 100 guests participated in the exhibit opening reception on Thursday, May 7.

From the moment they hear the words, “You have breast cancer,” every woman endures a unique and complicated battle. Survivor Sue Fassette is a 3-time survivor now thriving through her connections to the Erie support group Linked By Pink. Survivor Bettylou Perkins spoke of her own struggles and determination to beat breast cancer from Day 1.

The PBCC was also thrilled to welcome Mary Rennie, Executive Director of the Erie County Public Library, Joanne Grossi, Regional Director for Region III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper and Dr. Greg Engel, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Breast Program at UPMC Hamot as speakers for the evening.

We want to thank everyone who shared in our celebration of life, courage, hope and dignity last week. If you have not seen the exhibit yet, you still have time!. It will be on display at the Blasco Library through May 17!

Now that mammography facilities in Pennsylvania are required to notify women of their breast density (a result of the PBCC’s Breast Density Notification Act), we need your help with the next steps on this critical advocacy effort. We believe our actions will save the lives of women across the state.

Now that mammography facilities in Pennsylvania are required to notify women of their breast density (a result of the PBCC’s Breast Density Notification Act), we need your help with the next steps on this critical advocacy effort. We believe our actions will save the lives of women across the state.

We have developed two surveys: one for women in our state and one for the mammography centers they visit for screenings like mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs and 3D mammograms (tomosynthesis).

The PBCC needs to gather information from both women and facilities in order to develop resources, materials and corresponding legislation to follow the Breast Density Notification Act. Please take 5 minutes and fill out the survey that best fits your role in our outreach efforts.

The research of Dr. Craig Meyers and his team at Penn State College of Medicine, which was funded by the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, has been published in Cancer Biology and Therapy. They have determined that a virus not known to cause disease kills triple-negative breast cancer cells and killed tumors grown from these cells in mice. Understanding how the virus kills cancer may lead to new treatments for breast cancer.

Adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) infects humans but is not known to cause sickness. In prior studies, the researchers tested the virus on a variety of breast cancers that represent degrees of aggressiveness and on human papillomavirus-positive cervical cancer cells. The virus initiated apoptosis — natural cell death — in cancer cells without affecting healthy cells.
“Treatment of breast cancer remains difficult because there are multiple signaling pathways that promote tumor growth and develop resistance to treatment,” said Craig Meyers, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology.
Signaling pathways involve molecules in a cell that control cell functions — like cell division — by cooperation. For example, the first molecule in the process receives a signal to begin. It then tells another molecule to work, and so on.
Treatment of breast cancer differs by patient due to differences in tumors. Some tumors contain protein receptors that are activated by the hormones estrogen or progesterone. Others respond to another protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2. Each of these is treated differently.
A triple-negative breast cancer does not have any of these protein receptors and is typically aggressive.
“There is an urgent and ongoing need for the development of novel therapies which efficiently target triple-negative breast cancers,” Meyers said.
In the current study, the researchers tested AAV2 on a cell-line representative of triple-negative breast cancer. The researchers report their results in Cancer Biology & Therapy.
The AAV2 killed 100 percent of the cells in the laboratory by activating proteins called caspases, which are essential for the cell’s natural death. In addition, consistent with past studies, AAV2-infected cancer cells produced more Ki-67, an immunity system activating protein and c-Myc, a protein that helps both to increase cell growth and induce apoptosis. The cancer cell growth slowed by day 17 and all cells were dead by day 21. AAV2 mediated cell killing of multiple breast cancer cell lines representing both low and high grades of cancer and targeted the cancer cells independent of hormone or growth factor classification.
The researchers then injected AAV2 into human breast cancer cell line-derived tumors in mice without functioning immune systems. Mice that received AAV2 outlived the untreated mice and did not show signs of being sick, unlike the untreated mice. Tumor sizes decreased in the treated mice, areas of cell death were visible, and all AAV2 treated mice survived through the study, a direct contrast to the untreated mice.
“These results are significant, since tumor necrosis — or death — in response to therapy is also used as the measure of an effective chemotherapeutic,” Meyers said.
Future studies should look at the use of AAV2 body-wide in mice, which would better model what happens in humans.
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Other researchers on this project are Samina Alam, research associate, Penn State; Brian Bowser, PPD Vaccines and Biologics Laboratory; Mohd Israr, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research; and Michael Conway, Central Michigan University College of Medicine.
The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition funded this research.

Things have changed a bit since I was diagnosed with breast cancer 32 years ago. Now they do radiation, and I don’t think that was prevalent then. I had a lump that I found myself and I watched it for a few months. I had a mastectomy on December 30, 1982, and a month later I started on chemotherapy. I took methotrexate and cytoxan, and then tamoxifen for five years. I was in a study with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

At that time my husband Bill and I had a variety store on Main Street. I like numbers and I did all the bookwork for the store, which we owned for 22 years. We had five children and 10 grandchildren. I’ll be 87 years old in a few weeks. My daughters are very aware and I know they get their mammograms on time. They always did.
For fun and relaxation, I like to do crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, read, and watch movies on TV. I’ve been a member of the Women’s Club of Honesdale now for 60 years. We have a big antique show and I serve as treasurer of that. And I volunteer at the gift shop of the hospital auxiliary. I’m treasurer of the Wayne Memorial Hospital gift shop. When the Women’s Club of Honesdale started in 1939 we had 200 people who met in the afternoons and the ladies came to the meetings in hats and white gloves.
Now, I would advise anyone, not just breast cancer survivors, to keep busy and get involved.
I’m happy to represent Wayne County in the PBCC photo exhibit. My daughters have gone to different locations where it’s been displayed and I think they are proud to see me in it.

Springtime means gardening, planting, mulching and PINK DAY atStauffers of Kissel Hill Garden Centers! Join us on Saturday, June 6th at all 8 locations in Central PA for this 4th annual event! The fun runs all day, with a bake sale, educational info from PBCC (10am-2pm), and your chance to win a pink garden from Stauffers of Kissel Hill! Additionally, 2% of all sales on Pink Day will go to support PBCC’s programs and services for breast cancer survivors in PA!

Stop by to grab your gardening essentials on Saturday, June 6th and make a difference in the lives of women facing breast cancer in your community! Find out all the details here.

Linked By Pink is a nonprofit organization providing assistance to younger breast cancer patients. Traditionally, Linked By Pink serves women who were diagnosed under the age of 45; however, that age limit is temporarily extended to women under 55. If you fit the age requirement and live within a 45-mile radius of Erie, you are welcome to apply for financial help through one of their grant programs. The grants offered cover medical, travel, or living expenses. Gas cards are available for travel to medical appointments, and rent, mortgage, and utility payments are paid directly to the provider. Further details about eligibility and the application forms are at www.linkedbypink.org.